List of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope John Paul II
This is a list of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. After the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005 in Vatican City, and before official invitations were sent by the College of Cardinals, almost 200 countries expressed interest in sending representatives to the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The funeral took place on April 8, 2005, and was one of the largest gathering of statesmen and world leaders in history until the 2013 state funeral of Nelson Mandela. Some of the dignitaries later attended the installation of Pope Benedict XVI on April 24, 2005.
In order to accommodate all interested parties wishing to receive a seat during the Mass of Requiem, the Holy See limited the number of members in each official diplomatic delegation to five people, except for the Polish delegation which, being John Paul II's homeland, was allowed ten people, and the delegation from Italy. The limit did not exclude other people of any nationality from attaining individual invitations, unrelated to the individual's country's delegation: for example, the attendance of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, had no connection with the Brazilian delegation. In addition to a country's official delegation, any number of government officials were permitted to attend as pilgrim travellers, remaining outside the basilica during the Mass of Requiem with the general public. For example, the United States delegation included the president and first lady, two former presidents, and the secretary of state, and they all had seats in the basilica during the Mass of Requiem. Dozens of members of the Congress of the United States attended the Mass of Requiem, congregating among the general public outside the basilica.
At the funeral, the dignitaries were seated alphabetically according to the French spelling of their country's name and arranged according to diplomatic protocol.
10 sovereigns, 80 past and present elected heads of state, 75 heads of governements and numerous dignitaries from 18 multilateral organizations, 15 religions and 112 countries attended this Mass.
List of official delegations (in alphabetical order, incomplete)
A
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Titles |
| Afghanistan | Hamid Karzai Abdullah Abdullah Zalmay Rasul Mostapha Zaher Mohammad Nadir Hatami | President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Counsellor for National Security Ambassador First Secretary | |
| Albania | Alfred Moisiu Fatos Nano Sali Berisha Rexhep Meidani Mirella Moisiu | President of the Republic Prime Minister Former President of the Republic Former President of the Republic Daughter of the President of the Republic | |
| Algeria | Abdelaziz Bouteflika Bouabdalla Ghoulamallah Mokhtar Reguieg | President of the Republic Minister of Religious Affairs Ambassador | |
| Andorra | Joan Enric Vives Sicília Jacques Chirac Marc Forné Molné Maria Lluisa Gispert de Forné Juli Minoves-Triquell Josep Angel Mortès Pons | Co-Prince Co-Prince Head of Government Consort of the Head of Government Minister of Foreign Affairs Vice-President of Parliament | |
| Angola | José Eduardo dos Santos Ana Paula Dos Santos João Bernardo de Miranda Boaventura da Silva Cardoso José Filipe | President of the Republic Consort of the President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Culture Chief of Protocol of the Presidency | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Carl Roberts | Ambassador | |
| Argentina | Daniel Scioli Rafael Bielsa Guillermo Rodolfo Oliveri | Vice-President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Religious Affairs Secretary of State for Religious Affairs | |
| Armenia | Andranik Markaryan Edward Nalbandian Rouben Shugarian Armen Bayburtian Gevorg Hakobian | Prime Minister Ambassador to the Holy See Ambassador Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs First Assistant to the Prime Minister | |
| Australia | Michael Jeffery Marlena Jeffery Maria Cicutto Robert Hunter Ted Knez | Governor-General of Australia Wife of the Governor-General Embassy Counsellor | |
| Austria | Heinz Fischer Margit Fischer Wolfgang Schüssel Hubert Gorbach Andreas Khol | Federal President First Lady Federal Chancellor Vice-Chancellor President of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| Azerbaijan | Ilham Aliyev | President of the Republic |
B
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Bangladesh | Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf | Food and Disaster Management Minister | |
| Belarus | Gennady Novitsky Vladimir Korolev Aleksei Skripko | President of the Council of the Republic of Belarus Ambassador to the Vatican Ambassador | |
| Belgium | King Albert II Queen Paola Guy Verhofstadt Didier Reynders Herman De Croo | King of the Belgians Queen Consort Prime Minister of Belgium Deputy Prime Minister President of the Lower House | |
| Bolivia | Carlos Mesa Elvira Salinas de Mesa José Ignacio Siles | President of the Republic First Lady Ambassador | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Borislav Paravac Šefik Džaferović Bariša Čolak | President of the Presidency President of Parliament Deputy Prime Minister | |
| Brazil | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Fernando Henrique Cardoso Itamar Franco José Sarney Marisa Letícia da Silva Renan Calheiros Severino Cavalcanti Nelson Jobim | President of the Republic Former President Former President Former President First Lady President of the Senate President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Supreme Federal Court | |
| Bulgaria | Georgi Parvanov | President of the Republic |
C
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Canada | Paul Martin Sheila Martin Stephen Harper Phil Fontaine | Prime Minister of Canada Wife of the Prime Minister Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations | |
| Chile | Ignacio Walker Sergio Romero José Antonio Viera Gallo Gabriel Ascencio Pablo Longueira | Minister of Foreign Affairs President of the Senate Socialist senator President of the Chamber of Deputies UDI deputy | |
| China | Chen Shui-bian Chen Tang-san | President Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Colombia | Francisco Santos Calderon María Victoria Santos | Vice-President of the Republic Spouse of Vice-President of the Republic | |
| Congo | Joseph Kabila Jean-Pierre Bemba | President of the Republic Vice-President of the Republic | |
| Costa Rica | Abel Pacheco Roberto Tovar Faja | President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Croatia | Stipe Mesić Ivo Sanader | President of the Republic Prime Minister | |
| Cuba | Ricardo Alarcón Caridad Diego Raúl Roa Kourí | President of the National Assembly Chief of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party of Cuba Ambassador to the Holy See | |
| Cyprus | Tassos Papadopoulos George Poulides Tasos Tzionis | President of the Republic Ambassador to the Holy See Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President | |
| Czech Republic | Václav Klaus Cyril Svoboda | President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs |
D
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Denmark | Queen Margrethe II Prince Henrik Anders Fogh Rasmussen | Queen of Denmark Prince Consort Prime Minister of Denmark | |
| Dominican Republic | Margarita Cedeño de Fernández Alejandrina Germán Carlos Rafael Marión-Landais | First Lady Secretary of Education Ambassador to the Holy See |
E
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Ecuador | Lucio Gutiérrez Ximena Bohórquez Patricio Zuquilanda | President of the Republic First Lady Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Egypt | Farouk Hosni | Minister of Culture | |
| El Salvador | Francisco Laínez Ana Ligia Mixco Sol de Saca René Figueroa Roberto Simán María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila | Minister of Foreign Affairs First Lady Minister of the Interior former Ambassador to the Holy See former Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Equatorial Guinea | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | President of the Republic | |
| Estonia | Arnold Rüütel | President of the Republic |
F
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Finland | Matti Vanhanen | Prime Minister of Finland | |
| France | Jacques Chirac Bernadette Chirac | President of the French Republic Wife of the President of the French Republic |
G
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Germany | Horst Köhler Wolfgang Thierse Gerhard Schröder Joschka Fischer Dieter Althaus | President President of the Bundestag Chancellor Minister of Foreign Affairs Vice-President of the Bundesrat | |
| Ghana | John Kufuor | President of the Republic | |
| Greece | Karolos Papoulias Panagiotis Skandalakis Konstantinos Georgiou | President of the Republic Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs General Secretary of the Presidency | |
| Guatemala | Óscar Berger Wendy de Berger Jorge Briz Abularach Rigoberta Menchú | President of the Republic First Lady Minister of Foreign Affairs Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1992 | |
| Guinea | Sidibé Fatoumata Kaba | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
H
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Haiti | Gérard Latortue | Prime Minister | |
| Honduras | Ricardo Maduro | President of the Republic | |
| Hungary | Ferenc Mádl Dalma Mádl Ferenc Gyurcsány Viktor Orbán Katalin Szili | President of the Republic First Lady Prime Minister Former Prime Minister President of Parliament |
I
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| India | Bhairon Singh Shekhawat P.R. Kyndiah Oscar Fernandes | Vice President of India Minister of Tribal Issues and the Development of the North-East Minister of Relations with the Parliament | |
| Indonesia | Alwi Shihab Maftuh Basyuni Freddy Numberi | Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Minister of Religious Affairs Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, former Ambassador to Italy | |
| Iran | Mohammad Khatami | President of Iran | |
| Iraq | Ayad Allawi | Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| Ireland | Mary McAleese Bertie Ahern Mary Harney | President of Ireland Taoiseach Tánaiste | |
| Israel | Moshe Katsav Silvan Shalom | President of Israel Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Italy | Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Franca Ciampi Silvio Berlusconi Gaetano Gifuni Antonio Puri Purini Gianfranco Mazzuoli Marcello Pera Pier Ferdinando Casini Piero Alberto Capotosti Gianfranco Fini | President of the Italian Republic Wife of the President Prime Minister of Italy Counsellor of State, General Secretary of the Presidency Diplomatic Counsellor to the Presidency Counsellor Coordinator at the Presidency President of the Senate President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Constitutional Court Minister of Foreign Affairs |
J
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Japan | Yoriko Kawaguchi | Advisor to the Prime Minister | |
| Jordan | King Abdullah II Queen Rania | King of Jordan Queen Consort |
K
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Kenya | Chirau Ali Mwakwere | Minister of foreign affairs | |
| Kuwait | Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah | Member of the royal family |
L
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Latvia | Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga | President of the Republic | |
| Lebanon | Émile Lahoud Omar Karami Issam Fares Nabih Berri | President of the Republic Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Speaker of Parliament | |
| Lesotho | King Letsie III Monyane Moleleki | King of Lesotho Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Liechtenstein | Prince Hans-Adam II Princess Marie Prince Nikolaus Princess Margaretha | The Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein Princess Consort Ambassador to the Holy See wife of the ambassador to the Holy See | |
| Lithuania | Valdas Adamkus | President of the Republic | |
| Luxembourg | Grand Duke Henri Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Jean-Claude Juncker | Grand Duke of Luxembourg Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Prime Minister of Luxembourg |
M
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Macedonia | Branko Crvenkovski | President | |
| Madagascar | Marc Ravalomanana | President | |
| Malta | Eddie Fenech Adami Mary Fenech Adami Lawrence Gonzi Kate Gonzi Michael Frendo Guido de Marco Violet de Marco Anton Tabone Alfred Sant | President of Malta First Lady of Malta Prime Minister of Malta Spouse of the Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs Former President of Malta Former First Lady Speaker of the Parliament Leader of the Opposition | |
| Mauritius | Paul Bérenger | Prime Minister | |
| Mexico | Vicente Fox Marta Sahagún | President of Mexico First Lady of Mexico | |
| Monaco | Patrick Leclercq | Minister of State | |
| Morocco | Prince Moulay Rachid | Prince and brother of King Muhammad VI |
N
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Netherlands | Jan Peter Balkenende | Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
| New Zealand | Dame Silvia Cartwright Peter Cartwright | Governor-General of New Zealand Spouse of the Governor General | |
| Nicaragua | Enrique Bolaños Norman José Caldera Cardenal Armando Luna José Cuadra | President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador to the Holy See Ambassador to Italy | |
| Nigeria | Olusegun Obasanjo | President | |
| Norway | Queen Sonja Kjell Magne Bondevik | Queen Consort Prime Minister of Norway |
P
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Pakistan | Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq | Minister of Religious Affairs | |
| Palestine | Ahmed Qurei Ghazi Hanania Afif Safieh Nimer Hammad Mustafa Abu El-Rub | Prime Minister of Palestine Spokesman for the Legislative Council Director of the Diplomatic Representation to the Holy See General Delegate in Italy Assistant to the Prime Minister | |
| Panama | Martín Torrijos Vivian Fernández de Torrijos | President First Lady | |
| Paraguay | Luis Castiglioni Leila Rachid de Cowles | Vice-President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Peru | Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros Eliane Karp Eduardo Salhuana Antero Flores Aráoz | Minister of Foreign Affairs First Lady Minister of Justice President of the Congress of the Republic | |
| Philippines | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Evangelina Lourdes Arroyo Thelmo Cunanan Georgina de Venecia Howard Dee | President of the Philippines Presidential Daughter SS chairman wife of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. former Ambassador to the Holy See | |
| Poland | Aleksander Kwaśniewski Jolanta Kwaśniewska Lech Wałęsa Danuta Wałęsa Marek Belka Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Longin Pastusiak Hanna Suchocka Tadeusz Mazowiecki Wiesław Chrzanowski | President of the Republic First Lady former President of the Republic former First Lady Prime Minister Marshal of the Sejm Marshal of the Senate Ambassador to the Holy See former Prime Minister former Marshal of the Sejm | |
| Portugal | Jorge Sampaio Maria Jose Ritta Diogo Freitas do Amaral António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes | President of the Republic First Lady Minister of Foreign Affairs former President of the Republic |
Q
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Qatar | Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani | Emir of Qatar |
R
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Romania | Traian Băsescu Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu King Michael I Emil Constantinescu Ion Iliescu | President of the Republic Prime Minister former King of Romania former President of the Republic former President of the Republic | |
| Russia | Mikhail Fradkov | Prime Minister of Russia | |
| Rwanda | Charles Murigande | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
S
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| San Marino | Fausta Simona Morganti Cesare Antonio Gasperoni Fabio Berardi Giovanni Galassi Marcello Beccari | Captain Regent Captain Regent Secretary of State for Foreign and Political Affairs Ambassador to the Holy See Chief of State Protocol | |
| Saudi Arabia | Abdulmohsin bin Abdulaziz Al-Akkas Hamad Al-Hajri Ibrahim Al-Manie | Minister of Social Affairs | |
| Senegal | Abdoulaye Wade | President of the Republic | |
| Serbia and Montenegro | Svetozar Marović Vuk Drašković Boris Tadić Filip Vujanović Darko Tanasković | President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs President of Serbia President of Montenegro Ambassador to the Holy See | |
| Singapore | Shunmugam Jayakumar Walter Woon Alexander Lim | Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Law Ambassador to the Holy See First Secretary | |
| Slovakia | Ivan Gašparovič Pavol Hrušovský Eduard Kukan | President of the Republic President of Parliament Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Slovenia | Janez Drnovšek Janez Janša | President of the Republic Prime Minister | |
| South Africa | Jacob Zuma Lenin Shope N.J. Baloyi | Vice President of the Republic Ambassador Vice President's advisor | |
| South Korea | Lee Hai-chan | Prime Minister | |
| Spain | King Juan Carlos I Queen Sofía José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Miguel Ángel Moratinos Mariano Rajoy | King of Spain Queen Consort Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs Leader of the Opposition | |
| Sri Lanka | Mahinda Rajapakse Milroy Fernando | Prime Minister Minister of Christian Affairs | |
| Sweden | King Carl XVI Gustaf Queen Silvia Göran Persson | King of Sweden Queen Consort Prime Minister of Sweden | |
| Switzerland | Samuel Schmid | President of the Confederation | |
| Syria | Bashar al-Assad Asma al-Assad | President of the Republic First Lady |
T
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Tanzania | George Kahama | Minister for Cooperative Development | |
| Thailand | Surakiart Sathirathai | Deputy Prime Minister | |
| Tunisia | Mohamed Ghannouchi | Prime Minister | |
| Turkey | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Mehmet Aydin | Prime Minister Minister of State |
U
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Uganda | Gilbert Bukenya | Vice-President of the Republic | |
| Ukraine | Viktor Yushchenko Kateryna Yushchenko | President First Lady | |
| United Arab Emirates | Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Minister of Information | |
| United Kingdom | Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales Tony Blair Cherie Blair Michael Howard Charles Kennedy | Heir-apparent, Prince of Wales Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Spouse of the Prime Minister Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition Liberal Democrat leader | |
| United States | George W. Bush Laura Bush Condoleezza Rice George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton | President of the United States of America First Lady Secretary of State of the United States of America Former President Former President | |
| Uruguay | María Auxiliadora Delgado de Vázquez | First Lady |
V
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Venezuela | Alí Rodríguez Jorge Giordanni Rodrigo Chávez Roy Chaderton | Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Planning Ambassador to Italy Ambassador to France |
Z
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
| Zimbabwe | Robert Mugabe Herbert Murerwa Mr Bimha Mr Chihuri Mary Margaret Muchada | President Minister of Advanced Education Secretary to Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Personal Assistant to the President Ambassador |
International organizations
Religious leaders
Eastern Christian Churches
- Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
- Karekin II, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church
- Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
- Mesrob II Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and Turkey
- Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens
- Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and all Albania
- Jovan, Metropolitan of Zagreb-Ljubljana and All-Italy of the Serbian Orthodox Church
- Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk-Kaliningrad, head of the Department of Interchurch relations of the Russian Orthodox Church
- Lavrentije, Bishop of Šabac and Valjevo of the Serbian Orthodox Church
- Leo, Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland
- Seraphim, Bishop of Ottawa, of the Orthodox Church in America
Protestant Churches
- Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
- K. G. Hammar, Archbishop of Uppsala, Head of the Church of Sweden
- Jukka Paarma, Archbishop of Turku, Head of the Church of Finland
- Finn Wagle, Bishop of Nidaros and Primus of the Norwegian Lutheran State Church
- Rowan Williams, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, head of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion
Jewish religious leaders
- Oded Viener, representing the Chief Rabbis of Israel
- Shear-Yishuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa
- Riccardo Di Segni, Chief Rabbi of Rome
Unofficial delegations
Brazil
Individually invited :- Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil
- Itamar Franco, Brazilian Ambassador to Italy; former President of Brazil
- Bishop Odilo Scherer, secretary-general of the CNBB
- José Sarney, Brazilian senator; former President of Brazil and former president of the Brazilian Senate
- Henry Sobel, leading Rabbi of the Brazilian Jewish community
- Sheik Armando Hussein Saleh, of the "Brazilian Mosque"
- Rolf Schunemann, of the Brazilian Lutheran Church
- Father João Áviz, Archbishop of Brasília
- Father José Ernanne, representing the Brazilian clergy
Canada
- Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal
- Louise Harel, Representative of the Parti Québécois
- Mario Dumont, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec
Germany
- Angela Merkel, Party leader of the CDU
- Edmund Stoiber, Minister-President of Bavaria
Philippines
- Leonida Vera, ambassador to the Holy See
- Hermilando Mandanas, Batangas congressman
United States
- John Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts
- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, Republican, from Tennessee
- Ted Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts, last living brother of John F. Kennedy.
- White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card
- New York Governor George Pataki
- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg